meitachi | books read: 2025 may

May felt like a long month: while it slowed down at work significantly as students left campus, my schedule still felt full of community engagements. Both in good ways and exhausting ways. Some highlights: local AAPI artist showcase, a weekend trip to Toronto, launching a small APIDA restaurants week, participating in a book club, going to an AAPI summit in Albany, and posting my own mini recs on Instagram. Watching lots of OnlyOneOf.

I also read a lot and got much more into webtoons! They make for very easy reads, both physically on my phone and mentally not a heavy lift. So many interesting things on my to read list though (including favorite rereads) and I'll be traveling a bit next week, so the plane rides should provide good reading opportunities.

Sylvester by Georgette Heyer - I wanted to reread more of the one-off Heyers that were not my favorites and I have not reread frequently. This is one of them. It was cute and not my favorite for a reason! I think I ended up liking childhood friend Tom the most out of the cast, and while the child character was likeable enough, those in Frederica were more memorable and endearing to me. Sylvester and Phoebe both had to overcome their flaws and preconceptions, grow up a little, and find themselves a good fit.

Stranger Than Friends by Yeoro - M/M webtoon. Childhood friends turned friends with benefits while one secretly harbors a longstanding crush and the other develops new secret feelings -- misunderstandings and jealousy abounds, a happy ending. This is a very common storyline! This one was overall sweet and I liked that the main character was fairly straightforward and didn't let too many misunderstandings drag on for too long. The creepy boss as the potential rival was not my favorite and honestly not as interesting as I've seen in other series.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke - Short stories set in a magical England, the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Perhaps I should have read that first... A variety of frameworks for the stories, some like historical academic texts, some like oral storytelling. On the whole, an interesting world but not the most memorable or engaging book.

Water, Water by Billy Collins - A book of poetry! I've liked Billy Collins in the past and this book of poems really worked for me. Very conversational, intimate even; a glimpse of his daily life and rituals.

Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer - A reread; funny and a little condescending, but you kind of have to be a bit prescriptive if you're bothering to write this book. Instructive but more open than you might think. Still a fun read.

The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu - Middle grade fantasy set in Edinburgh! Starring a little Black girl and modern Edinburgh, I was really interested in this world. Unfortunately, the series is probably not one I'll continue as I didn't find the characters or plot particularly compelling. The library also barely features in the story; it was clearly a setup for future books.

I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying by Youngmi Mayer - A memoir by a half Korean, half white woman born in Korea, growing up partly in Korea and the Pacific, moving to the U.S. as an adult, becoming involved with a chef who became famous, divorcing him, and now becoming a comedian. What a journey! She talks a lot about her Korean identity and intergenerational trauma, and a little about how Koreans and Asians are perceived in the West (U.S.). There is a lot of baggage and trauma passed down to her through her parents and their abuse. I suppose there is a lot to discuss in all that she shared, but to be candid I did not enjoy her voice, her prose, or her story very much. I kept wondering: we all have our personal journeys and baggage but do we all need a book? Not everyone needs to write a memoir. The ending was also strange: veered sharply into a veneration of motherhood and how no one can understand what mothers are willing to do for their children (citing her feelings for her son) after an entire book describing the ways her mother (and previous generations) had abused their children. It felt dissonant at best or, well, in denial, perhaps.

I Ship My Rival x Me (The Comic / Manhua) Vol 3 by PEPA - The art continues to be incredibly cute and pretty, and the story very silly. I think I still love the original cnovel better, because that was my first love but also I think it conveyed tone better. But delighted to keep supporting this comic release.

How to Organize Inclusive Events by Alexandra Ketchum - A zine, technically, but over 100 pages of instructive event planning. I'm glad that most of the advice included things I generally already consider in my planning, learned through AST and in my current position.

Secret Therapy by Cheongdam - M/M webtoon. A short little college story based on a ridiculous premise around top student rivals (ish), one of whom has erectile dysfunction and the other who is a camboy streamer. Yeah, look, go with it. Sex solves all problems here!

Sucker Punch by Scaachi Koul - A book of essays about a failing marriage. Vulnerable and honest and painful, I think the author is a great writer. Unfortunately I'm not sure I liked the person she was writing about. (To be fair, I'm not sure she liked her either...) There was progress, sure, but that's the problem with writing memoirs and about your life: do you have to force your life to progress for the narrative? What happens if it doesn't? What happens if it stays messy and there are no easy answers?

Pony Confidential by Christina Lynch - A fun little mystery that features a grumpy little pony character (and some other animal friends). Multiple points of view. A twenty-five year old murder, solved. I don't really get horse girls, but I do get the importance of relationships -- with other humans or with animals -- that make you feel like you can be yourself, and give you support and strength.

Omega Complex by Ghost - M/M webtoon with omegaverse. Interesting to see them try to depict pheremones visually. Another childhood best friends but with secret dynamics hidden from each other, but of course it's not really an issue when revealed because they actually like each other. (I'm glad it wasn't a Huge Betrayal. Yes, if you like the person you should like them regardless of dynamic.)

Concubine Walkthrough by bongbong - M/F webtoon, but wowowow. This might be the best otome isekai webtoon I've read. It's both scifi and a historical palace drama, and in some ways the romance is the weakest part. But the characters are so compelling and genuinely develop over the course of the story. The art is gorgeous with a deliberately limited color palette. There is plot -- and different plot than might be expected. The little easter eggs and clues that are dropped throughout really add up over time to the multiple reveals. You have to hang in to the end; it's worth it. All the delights of historical Chinese palace intrigue and backstabbing along with a larger mystery about the world and all the secrets each cahracter is hiding.

My Bias Is Showing? by Nabit - M/M webtoon. A Kpop idol is filming a reality show in a school, the teacher he gets paired with has to hide the fact that he's a superfan. Uhhh then the idol tries to win him over for petty reasons but tbh I ended up caring less about their relationship (cute enough) than the teacher's cousin, who also happened to be in the same kpop group?? And had a breakup with another member? And then WE DIDN'T GET THAT STORY. Mad about it. I want that story instead.

Selected Poems by Langston Hughes - A wonderful collection from across different books and eras. Really resonated with me as I was reading this before and after I watched Sinners. So many similar themes around of course the Black experience: hope and community, blues music, unfairness of the world and scrabbling to make the most of it, faith, hoodoo, love. And Hughes' voice is so distinct with personality, and the poems are often written like songs and lyrics. His poetry reflected a lot of what I got out of the movie as well. Really apt and enhanced both experiences, digesting the movie and the poems.

Looking back, my favorite reads this month were Concubine Walkthrough and poetry.

Prepping for the Stray Kids concert I'm attending at the end of the month. I can name all 8 members, recognize 5 consistently, and know 2.5 songs. I'm working up to knowing like 5 songs by the concert!